Webber: Our rivals should focus on themselves

4 August 2010

Hungarian Grand Prix winner and F1 2010 World Championship leader Mark Webber muses that if Red Bull Racing's rivals are 'getting destroyed' week-in, week-out, they should first and foremost concentrate on rectifying their own shortcomings

F1 2010 World Championship leader Mark Webber has told Red Bull Racing's rivals that they would be better served by concentrating on improving their own cars rather than constantly trying to find fault with the pace-setting RB6.

In the wake of yet another dominant performance by Red Bull in last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix – the last race before the top flight downs tools for its mid-summer break – questions and complaints were again raised about the legality or otherwise of the Adrian Newey-penned RB6's flexible front wing. The wing flexes at high-speed when it is supposed to remain static, and a similar innovation can also be found on Ferrari's F10 – with both designs having passed the FIA's stringent tests.

No protest has yet been forthcoming, though Mercedes Grand Prix team principal Ross Brawn has made his displeasure with the concept known. The RB6 has successfully passed scrutineering at every grand prix to-date in 2010, even if minor modifications have occasionally had to be made. There was much scepticism earlier on in the campaign that the Milton Keynes-based squad was running some form of illegal active ride-height suspension – fears that ultimately proved unfounded.

Webber, moreover, has spoken up in staunch defence of his team, re-iterating his call for an equalisation of engine performance to help compensate the Renault V8's comparative lack of grunt [see separate story – click here] – and explaining that if Red Bull is continually pushing back the boundaries of the aerodynamic limitations, it is only to make up for what it lacks in terms of out-and-out power.

“Our guys have broken their balls to design a car in the spirit of the regulations, and every time we have inspections from the FIA, we pass,” the 33-year-old stressed, according to The Associated Press. “The car has always been passed by the FIA, so when people don't like what they see on the stopwatch, they have to justify their own positions. When there's pressure on people to perform and they're getting destroyed, that's how it is.

“Some teams have done certain things, other teams have done other things. McLaren have had a great year; they're a few points off, [but] they're still right there. They incorporated the F-duct, which is a sensational idea. We've turned the world upside-down to try and do that, which is not without our resource difficulties. That's F1.

“We're more than happy with what we have on the car and we're sleeping well at night. You should never penalise things that are ingenious and people that are doing a good job, and that's sometimes the case. There's always something new to bring out of the cupboard.”

Join
the conversation - Add your comment

Although the administrators and moderators of this website will attempt to keep all objectionable comments off these pages, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the poster, and neither Crash Media Group nor Crash.Net will be held responsible for the content of any message. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. If you find a message objectionable, please contact us and inform us of the problem or use the [report] function next to the offending post. Any message that does not conform with the policy of this service can be edited or removed with immediate effect.

You're seriously complaining about their appearance after a race? They have just been through 2 hours of high G forces, high temps and a heart rate that would equal a marathon runner and come off a podium after being sprayed with champagne...
I think I'll forgive them if they look a bit worn out after that...

Calvin,
Not so sure, at least they let them race unlike Ferrari, give RBR some credit.
If they didn't want Webber to win at all they wouldn't have put him on that strategy and would have queued him behind Seb at the safety car period....like Ferrari did.